Customer Reviews

Operation Daybreak (Import NTSC All Regions)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The main body of my review below was written before the Warner Brothers Archive Collection DVD release of the film late last year. My comments as to the DVD are below the review.

The recent "Valkyrie" and "Defiance" are not bad films at all - but they pale in comparison to "Operation Daybreak" in their depiction of heroic strikes against Hitler and Hitlerism in every particular. No film about the Holocaust or a Nazi-occupied country has EVER made me feel as involved, as claustrophobically surrounded by the madness of Fascism as this film. "Schindler's List," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "The Pianist," "Sophie's Choice," "Defiance," - all great movies dealing with lives controlled and stolen by the Third Reich - but compared to this film, they all come across as seeming like, well, what they are....films. But this movie...wow...it transcends the artful feel of cinema and if ever a film did it, this one does - it makes you feel like you are there! And the added glory is that this is a true story that follows the historic truth with very little liberty taken. It is the ultimate study of Heroic Hopelessness. The acting, the settings, the cinematrography, the absolutely hauntingly beautiful (and unrecorded!) music score, all of it - this is a MUST see. I won't go into plot detail to spoil it for those who know nothing or little of this true story. When I first saw it, I knew absolutely nothing about what would happen next. That is the best way to experience this film (and all films, actually). Suffice it to say that, as the credits rolled, I wept. I wept more tears after watching this movie than I've shed from all the other World War II films I have seen combined. And that is saying alot! And to movie score CD makers: don't let this emotionally rivetting score remain in unheard oblivion.

As to the WB Archive Collection DVD release: I just watched it and am glad to have this fantastic film on disc and presented in a widescreen format. The image quality and sound are wonderful. What is NOT wonderful is the pathetic presentation of this cinematic gem. I couldn't believe it when I popped this into the DVD player and, lo and behold, no Menu! No subtitles, no chapter stops, no extras! While I rejoice in the fact that the film is available on disc...I am also appalled at the shabby presentation - or lack thereof - of this truly great and memorable film. I always say - if you are going to do something, do it right! The WB Archive Collection put NO thought or consideration in releasing this film - they just...threw it out there. I have seen some of the worst movies EVER made get the royal treatment in their DVD presentation. And here is a movie that - being based on an historical event - has not ONE extra! There was a History Channel show about these events - and that would have been a fantastic extra (provided WB could have gotten the rights to it.) But even so, no chapter stops! Anyway, despite the flaws (the DVD case also has one of the worst covers I have ever seen; it looks more like a cover for a comedy! They at least should have stuck with the picture on the VHS tape)...despite the flaws, see this movie!

This is my grandfathers favoritt movie of all time, and when his VHS tape stopped working a few years ago we aimed to source out a DVD version!

Now we found it hurray :) the DVD works perfectly the movies is great but the subtitles are very poor!

The entire movie is subtitled in korean (both german and english), thats great for koreans.

But they only subtitled the English speaking characters in english, so when the german characters start speaking there is no english subtitles so we have no idea what they are talking about.

Its a sore dissapointment as the german dialogue is just as important as the english dialogue. Why on earth subtitle the English language with english subtitles? And leave the german un-subtitled?

Dissapointed, but it is a great movie!

Where is the DVD, we are waiting! Saw this movie probably over 15 years ago, but have not been able to buy it; should definitely be released on DVD! A great all around war drama with action, suspense & a tremendous ending that you won't forget! It is also based on a true story which makes it all the more great! A must have movie for any war movie buff!

A recent holiday in Prague led me to a church where the actual events to the movie unfolded.Intrigud by the story I traced a copy of the film on d.v.d through Amazon.Totally blown away by the ending and unusally for me moved to tears.Booked another flight to Prague just to lay flowers back at the church.

I first saw this movie in college in about 1976 and was completely bowled over by the movie. I found a copy of it on VHS a few years ago and remembered why it had impacted me. The movie seems to recreate the feel of an occupied country and Anton Diffring portrays Heydrich with a quiet deadliness that is chilling. The final scenes in the church are absolutely stunning. A fabulous movie that will intrigue and entrance you

Like 'The Man Between' starring James Mason this movie could also have been lost forever. The former mentioned survived mainly because it was about Berlin, otherwise goodness knows what would have happened to that one. 'Operation Daybreak' is a true story that has survived but in both cases the music score has been lost. Both movies contain some of the most beautiful movie sountrack ever written. So why are they not on CD? That's a question for the record companies to answer who may be more interested in earning a quick buck!

It is a crime not to release this classic on dvd,a movie i have been waiting to see after a long time, and own,like so many countless other fans of this superb movie.So many worthless and unwatchable movies have been released on dvd, yet,not this one.Why that is so beggars belief! Will the powers that be take the appropriate action,and fast!

Five stars for the film itself--it is an uncompromising and generally accurate portrayal of the assassination of Heydrich by Czech resistance fighters supported by the British. The Warner Brothers release, however, is only 106 minutes long, whereas the film itself has a running time of 118 minutes. Perhaps the loss of 12 minutes of running time moves the action forward somewhat, but the film was made with some care and I myself would prefer to see the entire film, without cuts. That is possible with an alternate version that is available, but unfortunately not with the Warner Brothers release of this very important WWII film. I continue to be disappointed at the major studio's habit of cutting large and significant portions out of popular films. This has been done to the DVD releases of The Big Easy and Like Water for Chocolate, and enthusiasts are still waiting for a release of Midway that includes the 20-30 minutes at the start about the Battle of the Coral Sea. I have no idea why studio executives continue to shoot themselves in the foot by making injudicious cuts to popular movies, but the end result is that fewer people will buy the DVD or Blu-Ray than if they had presented the film in its entirety.

I must confess i was taken back by this film.I was always under the idea that Heydrich always drove without any protection,that Hitler and Himmler were always on him about riding around with no escort. This movie i guess proves me wrong.Heydrich was not a Nazi bully like the others that surrounded Hitler.He did not enjoy losing and rarely lost at swimming,riding,tennis,etc,etc.One thing i know for sure Heydrich did not have a Jewish back ground.This roomer was started by W. Chrichill and M.I.Five to try to discredit him around Hitler.He later produced papers about his background.Were they real it doesn't matter Hitler was satisfied.One thing [on the lighter side]his wife was not as pretty as the girl that player in the movie.

If ever a movie needed to see a dvd release, this is the one! After much searching around, I managed to source this one and I'm glad its finally in my collection. I saw it in 1980, and since then, it has been right up at the top on my wish list of collectible movies of all time.
The transfer seems to have been from a VHS and hence the quality isn't too great, but I guess beggars can't be choosers when there isn't an official dvd print of this title anywhere in the world.
For those of you who haven't seen it......just blindly pick this title up!!You will never regret it.
And lastly.....I hope the authorities who own the rights to this movie listen to all our prayers and release a remastered version of this classic on dvd so that it will not be lost for posterity .